Spam: Don't Butcher its Name

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Spam: Don't Butcher its Name

Canned-meatery Hormel Foods filed two legal challenges with the Patent and Trademark Office to try to stop SpamArrest, a software company, from using the name Spam, for which Hormel holds the trademark.

SpamArrest, which specializes in blocking junk e-mail or "spam," filed papers to trademark its corporate name early this year. Hormel then sent the company a warning to drop the word "Spam." SpamArrest refused.

SpamArrest said its use of the word has nothing to do with Hormel's product, first produced in 1937. Hormel officials disagree, arguing that the company has carefully protected and invested in the brand name, and that the public could confuse the meat product with the technology company.

Hormel acknowledges that its brand name has taken on new meaning; its website outlines what the company considers acceptable uses of the word. It filed the trademark challenges in late June.

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Judge throws out Intel suit: A class-action lawsuit accusing Intel executives of falsifying statements to inflate its stock price has been dismissed.

A U.S. district judge granted Intel's motion to dismiss, saying plaintiffs failed to show company officials knowingly misled investors about Intel products or revenues.

Investors claimed that Intel made bullish statements that drove the company's stock to an all-time high in the summer of 2000. The run-up was quickly followed by news that Intel was canceling one chip line and delaying the launch of new processors because of design and development problems. Within five weeks, Intel's stock dropped by more than half.

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Copping a typosquat: Air France won the right to take over a website that uses a garbled version of its www.airfrance.com website name to steer business toward travel firms and finance companies.

The United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization handed down this latest ruling in a growing number of "typosquatting" cases, where a minor variation of a website name is used to divert customers who mistype it. WIPO runs an arbitration service for Internet name disputes.

Air France argued that the Uruguayan owner of www.arifrance.com was guilty of typosquatting. The arbitrator said the use of a "typographical misspelling" of the Air France trademark showed that the site was registered in bad faith to make money by creating confusion.

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More jobs on chopping block: Electronics giant Siemens said its mobile communications arm will cut 2,300 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, over the next 14 months as part of a drive to cut costs in a weak market.

Siemens mobile said 500 cuts will be in Germany but did not say where the rest of the new reductions would be made. The division, which has 28,000 employees worldwide, already has cut some 2,000 jobs in each of the last two years.

The company cites 15 to 20 percent declines in the world market for mobile communication networks and stagnating mobile phone sales as reasons for the job cuts. Siemens said it hopes to cut costs by an additional $1.14 billion over the next year, improving productivity while investing further in mobile phone networks.

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Yet another choice for DSL: AT&T said on it would add high-speed Internet access to its service packages in New York state to compete against the Baby Bells and cable television operators serving residential customers.

AT&T (T), said the digital subscriber line, or DSL, high-speed Internet service is available in the state of New York and it expects to offer the service in additional states this year. Eventually, AT&T said it would offer DSL service in all states where it provides local and long distance residential service packages.

As competition in the telecommunications industry has intensified with long-distance and local carriers targeting each other's markets, carriers have hawked discounted packages to attract and retain high-spending customers. Another threat looms as cable TV companies, which already offer high-speed Internet access and video services, eye the telephone market.

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Beetle collectors battle for bug remains: As the world's last new Volkswagen bug rolled off the assembly line Wednesday at the VW plant in Puebla, Mexico, collectors are flying to Mexico and shipping the car all over the world.

Volkswagen said goodbye to its homegrown legend by beaming footage of the car worldwide, then sending it to a museum in Germany. As the German car manufacturer ends production, an international battle has been sparked among collectors who want a final version of the car that was popular with everyone from post-World War II suburbanites to hippies.

Volkswagen produced 3,000 "last edition" bugs to be sold at Mexican dealerships for $8,000 — a few hundred dollars more than the normal price. The design stays faithful to the original model with a few minor changes, including chrome trim, whitewall tires and a CD player. Experts said prices will likely rise as the car is resold in and outside Mexico.